For the PenPals project this month, I’ll be corresponding with José Muñoz. You’ll be able to follow along with the Letters project here and on his site at josemunozmatos.com

Here’s a brief look at my first letter to José, as summarized by ChatGPT:

Jarrod initiates a letter to José, expressing gratitude for participating in a letter exchange project inspired by Jason Becker. Having exchanged emails briefly in the past, Jarrod is eager to learn more about Jose through these public messages. Jarrod provides a glimpse into his life, describing his transition from Michigan to upstate New York, his role as an outdoor recreation professional, and his blog’s focus on diverse interests. He shares recent events, including a vacation to the Outer Banks and the passing of his aunt, reflecting on life’s poignant moments. Jarrod ends the letter with thoughts on housework and Ed Sheeran’s new album, inviting José to share his own experiences and interests.

If you’d like to be a penpal for this project, please reach out! I’d love to get you on the schedule.

PenPals

It’s time to try something new! I’ve been inspired by Jason Becker’s Letters project this year. Each month, he’s been emailing back and forth with someone he’s met on the internet. It’s been fascinating to see these, usually private, letters in public. It’s kind of like getting to see friendships blossom before my very eyes.

Right from the start, I was intrigued by Jason’s project since I’ve always thought of blogging, more or less, as just emails sent to the world. Well, now I’m kicking off my own version of the Letters project and I’ll literally be publishing emails to the web. And you — yes, you! — could be part of it. More on that below.

Here’s how it’ll work: Each week, I’ll write or respond to an email from an internet acquaintance. I’ll publish the conversation as it stands each week, referencing the previous message. And we’ll chat back and forth like that for a whole month. Again, you should check out Jason’s posts so far for examples.

Here’s where you come in, Dear Reader. If you think you’d like to be part of this project, please get in touch! Feel free to provide a short introduction or a link to your home on the internet, and let me know which month or two you’re available (let’s leave the good stuff for the actual letters 😉). There will be no pressure on topics, just whatever’s on your mind. Here are some general guidelines that I’m also borrowing (with permission) from Jason Becker:

1. The person I’m corresponding with will write the first letter.
2. I will respond during the same week. They do not have to write again until the next week.
3. Each letter will be at least 250 words.
4. I will post the correspondent’s letter followed by my response on my blog. If they have a blog, they can do the same and I will gladly link to them.

I’m thrilled to announce that José Muñoz has agreed to be my first correspondent. I’ll be kicking that one off with the first letter and we’ll be chatting throughout May. You’ll be able to follow along between his site and mine. But that leaves all future months wide open (see here). I’d love to get to know you, what makes you tick, your hopes and dreams, or just what’s going on in your neck of the woods.

It’ll be fun, I promise. Just let me know if you want to be a part of it. 😄✉️

PenPals

A weekly list of interesting things I found on the internet, posted on Sundays. Sometimes themed, often not.

1️⃣ Resolution.

2️⃣ Independence.

3️⃣ Forgiveness.

4️⃣ Empathy.

5️⃣ Passion.

6️⃣ Balance.

7️⃣ Understanding.

I will miss her.

Thanks for reading 7 Things. If you enjoyed these links or have something neat to share, please let me know.

7 Things

A weekly list of interesting things I found on the internet, posted on Sundays. Sometimes themed, often not.

1️⃣ Defining clips in human history that are in the public domain, but not available in the public realm. License from organizations that own them, strung together into a short film, and released to the public. [▶️ Richard Misek // vimeo.com] (Via kottke.org)

2️⃣ Matt Birchler released an enlightening video showing off how ChatGPT helped him make improvement to his Quick Reviews web app code with ease just by asking natural language questions. [▶️ A Better Computer // youtube.com]

3️⃣ Matt also released version 2.0 of his handy Quick Reviews web app this week. It’s an easy-to-use tool to create, well, quick reviews of media that also look great! Version 2.0 brings an image export option, keyboard shortcuts, and more flexibility for getting poster images in. [🔗 Matt Birchler // birchtree.me]

4️⃣ Perhaps the best article I read all week. I kept wanting to quote the whole thing, so you might as well just go and read the entire piece about how even an investor in Snap thinks all social media is destined to fail. And why they think social media is anything but social these days. [🔗 Ellis Hamburger // theverge.com]

5️⃣ Congrats to BasicAppleGuy who just celebrated three years of running his (hugely inspirational) site. [🔗 basicappleguy.com]

6️⃣ The rule changes for Major League Baseball this season appear to already be making marked improvements to the game for both players and fans. [🔗 Matthew Cullen // newsletters.nytimes.com] (Via @matt@isfeeling.social)

7️⃣ Watching some do their thing really, really well is something that gives me the most joy in life. Their complete mastery — no matter the subject or skill, really — enthralls me. For example, this exquisitely intimate video of Ed Sheeran performing I Don’t Care, acoustic and solo, at Abbey Road in 2019. An instant classic. [▶️ Ed Sheeran // youtube.com]

Thanks for reading 7 Things. If you enjoyed these links or have something neat to share, please let me know.

7 Things

I met a buddy, Lucas, and a new friend, Nancy, today to go rock climbing after a lazy morning mindlessly scrolling in bed. I’d been stoked about getting out on this beautiful day off in the warm weather but on the hour-ish drive to the crag, I started feeling nervous. For no particular reason. I wasn’t planning on leading anything out of my comfort zone and had climbed with Lucas many times before. There was no good reason that I should feel scared the way I did, and yet it happened anyway. My palms were sweaty before reaching the crag, and though I put on a good face, I knew I wasn’t really feeling it.

Maybe it was something about going back to this crag that I’d visited, but hadn’t actually climbed yet. I’d had months to think about it and build it up in my mind. Regardless, I sucked it up and, after watching Lucas and Nancy both lead the warm-up 5.7, I hoped on the sharp end. It went well enough, but I definitely felt more scared than I usually would for the grade and less coordinated than I would have hoped. It was thought-provoking climbing the whole way up, without any obviously easy sections. I felt a bit better when Lucas said, unprompted, that he also felt a little spooked on the route, and he’s a much stronger climber than I am.

For the next couple of hours, I top roped on some harder climbs and certainly didn’t feel on top of my game. I fell, several times, on routes that I know I could have normally cruised. But I tried everything that the others hopped on, always got back on after my falls, and got in a good workout.

But I knew I wouldn’t feel satisfied with the day if I didn’t push myself just a little bit more, so, despite feeling pretty worked, I racked up to lead the classic 5.6 route that had been on my tick list. Nancy had led it just a few days before and assured me that, despite how it looked, there were plenty of spots to place protection and that I’d love the airy face climbing. She was right. And while I still didn’t feel like I was climbing very smoothly or that my mental game was strong during it, I was glad to finish the day with a successful lead on an inspiring line.

Reflecting at the crag, we three chatted about how personal an experience it is to be climbing. We discussed how it doesn’t really matter if you get to the top, or if you take a fall. It’s all about how you feel about the climb. And sometimes — when there’s rational fear or exhaustion — you should listen to your body when it’s telling you that today isn’t your day. But other times, like today, when the fear bites without rhyme or reason, it’s helpful to push yourself past it and give it your all anyway. Because it’s in those sharp, heart-pounding moments when you step just outside your comfort zone that you’re able to grow.

And I’m proud of myself for doing that today. I didn’t climb my best, but I did climb the best I could.

(By the way, the climbing community is made of — bar none — the most supportive, accepting, kind, and quietly badass people I’ve ever met. Check out a climbing gym or outdoor crag sometime. I doubt you’ll regret it.)

Climbing

“Underscore” David Smith, with the perfect analogy for that post-grind feeling of aimlessness:

Imagine pulling out a rubber band to its full extent. In that moment the rubber band is being rightfully employed in its primary function, it is living its best life, it is right in the groove of what makes a rubber band a rubber band. Then imagine releasing the rubber band and letting it fall loose again. Now the rubber band finds itself without direction and is aware that in the process of its useful employ it has been altered slightly, that it is now slightly looser.

That feeling can be hard to shake. I felt it each August after living and breathing Summer Camp as Director for three months straight. David writes about his habit of escaping to nature on long hikes or camping trips after releasing big software updates to the world. A drastic change to the daily routine like that would help, I think, since it’d feel more normal to jump back into work upon return. If you’re going to lose a few days of productivity anyway, best to make it worthwhile and really disconnect and do something different and fun.

Linked

Apple Fitness+ has rolled out new Ted Lasso-inspired Fitness+ workouts, as noted by Michael Potuck for 9to5Mac:

A new collection of workouts has arrived on Apple Fitness+. Instead of a traditional theme, the new workouts are all inspired by the Apple TV+ hit Ted Lasso. Here are all the fun new workouts that make it easy to “believe.”

There’s new cycling, strength, HIIT, and treadmill workouts all with soccer-themed moves. Plus, there are two Time to Walk workouts hosted/narrated by two starring cast members: Hannah Waddingham and Brendan Hunt.

The synergy possible within a multi-media, multi-faceted super company like Apple is a little breathtaking. Especially when they know they’ve got something good to capitalize on. I hope the cast and crew of Ted Lasso are making bank on all these extras that Apple’s got them creating.

Linked

On Tuesday, Apple launched its latest foray into the financial sector: a Savings account tied to the Apple Card (which I will refer to as ‘Apple Card Savings’). From the Apple Newsroom press release:

Starting today, Apple Card users can choose to grow their Daily Cash rewards with a Savings account from Goldman Sachs, which offers a high-yield APY of 4.15 percent — a rate that’s more than 10 times the national average. With no fees, no minimum deposits, and no minimum balance requirements, users can easily set up and manage their Savings account directly from Apple Card in Wallet.

[…]

Once a Savings account is set up, all future Daily Cash earned by the user will be automatically deposited into the account. The Daily Cash destination can also be changed at any time, and there’s no limit on how much Daily Cash users can earn. To build on their savings even further, users can deposit additional funds into their Savings account through a linked bank account, or from their Apple Cash balance.

We knew that Apple was aiming to be competitive — they cited the Savings account was going to be a “high-yield” account before it was officially released — but the internet at large seemed surprised at just how good of an interest rate Apple secured for its customers out of the gate at 4.15%. That’s much, much higher than most savings accounts, and among the best that any day-to-day consumer can get today. Add in the slick dashboard and easy sign-up process — just a few taps through the ‘More’ menu of your Apple Card in the Wallet app, plus entering your Social Security Number¹ — and I’d say it’s a big winner for customers.

Where Apple Card Shortchanges Us

That being said, I don’t foresee myself moving a bunch of money over to my Apple Card Savings, even though that’s something I could very easily do using Apple’s tools in the Wallet app. That’s because I already have a high-yield cash account through Betterment’s Cash Reserve that I like. And it’s currently sporting an interest rate of 4.20%. (Interest rates through both Betterment and Apple Card Savings are subject to change at any time.) But more importantly, it’s shared with my wife, who can access the account the same as I can. From what I can tell, Apple Card Savings allows each co-owner of an Apple Card Family account to create their own Savings, but not a common pool:

If you have Apple Card Family, only account owners and co-owners can set up Savings accounts.* Each Savings account holder will only be able to see their own account balance and details in Wallet.

*At this time, Participants aren’t eligible to set up Savings.

Everyone does money differently, but at least for my partnership with my spouse, we shared everything. The notable exception is the Apple Card, for reasons I’ll get to below. But the result is that it doesn’t make sense for me to transfer money out of one of our shared pool into another that only I have access to — especially since it wouldn’t come with any interest-earning benefit.

As for why we don’t share access to the Apple Card. Well, that’s another case of Apple getting really, tantalizingly close to an ideal product, but not quite getting it over the finish line. You see, the big draw of the Apple Card is the Daily Cash — of which I’m a big fan. Every day you’re reminded the benefits, the free money (provided you pay off the balance before it accrues owed interest) that it earns for you. 3% back for anything bought at Apple, 2% for anything purchased using NFC tap-to-pay, and 1% anytime the physical titanium card is swiped or its card number is used (i.e. online not through Apple Pay, or over the phone). The thing is, there are still a lot of places, both online and in-person, that Apple Pay isn’t accepted. Which means a lot of our transactions would earn just 1% cash back. Instead, we’ve used and loved the Citi DoubleCash card for years. Its shtick is that you earn 2% back on everything. Every purchase, no matter how it’s made.²

So why would I use the Apple Card for anything other than Apple purchases that earn that sweet, sweet 3% daily cash? The answer is, I wouldn’t and I don’t. Apple Card pays for my apps, subscriptions, and Apple devices, and that’s about it.³ The DoubleCash card rewards are simpler to understand, and earn us more money back.⁴ So, instead of cluttering my wife’s wallet with another card that she wouldn’t want to use anyway, we have an understanding that it’s attached to my Apple ID and pays for just those purchases (which are ultimately shared with her through Family Sharing anyway).

Another strike against using Apple Card day-to-day is that getting its transactions out of Apple Wallet and into something that has a broader view of my finances, like Copilot or Mint, is a pain the ass. You literally have to export a CSV file of the transactions each month, like an animal! Instead, I’ve got Copilot hooked up directly to my Citi account through Plaid, so every transaction is automatically loaded into my budgeting app of choice.

Okay, Getting to the Gold

I’ve prattled on about Apple Card and its Savings account’s shortcomings enough. There is at least one thing that I’m glad for, and it’s why I’ve turned on the Savings account in the first place: it finally separates my Daily Cash earnings from the peer-to-peer payments I do through Apple Cash.

For the uninitiated, Apple Cash (the artist formally known as Apple Pay Cash), is like Venmo or Cash App in that you can send money back and forth to other Apple Cash users. And it’s primarily done through the Messages app, which is pretty convenient since that’s where my friends and family discuss those friendly transactions anyone. It keeps the conversation and payment in context. It’s super easy and free, and you can even spend that money out of your Apple Cash account anywhere you can use Apple Pay.

But why is diverting the Daily Cash earnings out of Apple Cash and into Apple Card Savings⁵ better? Mainly because I think of the meager Daily Cash as “extra fun money” that I can choose to save up or spend frivolously. And if I need to send money to a friend to cover something that would otherwise come out of my budget, like for a meal or to cover part of a bill, it’s instead spending money out of that “fun fund”. I’ve deliberately chosen to use Cash App instead of Apple Cash because I can more accurately budget transactions there as they flow through our regular checking account.

Now, with Daily Cash safely tucked away (and earning interest!) in Apple Card Savings, I can go back to using Apple Cash as a intermediary for the checking account when doing to those peer-to-peer payments.

High(-Yield) Hopes

I used to be nervous about Apple tip-toeing into the financial world. I thought it would be a distraction from their core products, and it just seemed kind of, well, icky to do any sort of banking with my favorite tech company. But Apple, these days, is far more than just a technology juggernaut. They’ve proven that they can walk and chew gum. And while we feared that Apple Card would tarnish their brand since they’d ostensibly have to go “shake down” folks who didn’t pay back their loans, I’ve yet to hear any story of an unpleasant interaction in that regard. It could be that Goldman Sachs is bearing that grunt work and I’m just not hearing about it, but I’m pleased that it seems to be working well for both customers and Apple.

However, if Apple wanted to make it a no-brainer for even more its customers like me to default to using the Apple Card for everything, I think they need to take their, admittedly already-pretty–simple-compared-to-other-credit-card-labyrinth-point-systems, rewards program and take it a step further. I suggest making it a plain and simple 3% daily cash back for everything, but would accept a 2% minimum and higher percentages earned with special partnerships.

I truly do believe Apple when they say that one of their goals with Apple Card, their monthly installments program, and the also-new Apple Pay Later loans, is to “build tools that help users lead healthier financial lives.” Their “no fees” approach, easy-to-understand financial dashboards, and encouragement to pay off loans before they accrue interest are all very customer-first. With a few additional steps toward being more sharing-friendly and better integrated with the rest of the finance software world, they could earn more credibility, and, ultimately, more business.

Greatest Hits

Harry McCraken, writing for Technologizer:

But I’m not writing this article because the dead-tree versions of Maximum PC and MacLife are no more. I’m writing it because they were the last two extant U.S. computer magazines that had managed to cling to life until now. With their abandonment of print, the computer magazine era has officially ended.

As a budding technology enthusiast in late middle school or early high school, I was thrilled to receive a yearlong MacLife magazine subscription as a gift. It was a recognition and celebration of my nerdery. I kept each of the issues for years, marveling how it felt to geek out “alongside” the writers about something that few other people in my life cared about. I’d idly flip through them, admiring the superior graphical user interface and application library of the Mac while I still suffered through with a PC.

It was before I could get away with surfing the internet for hours and hours, and, as I see now, reading MacLife was the precursor to my tech-centered RSS and podcast devouring habits.

This news makes me a bit sad, if only for nostalgia’s sake. Honestly, if you had asked me yesterday, I probably would have guessed that MacLife was already out of print.

(Via Six Colors)

Linked

Keith Wagner, writing for his “kind of a climbing blog” Chasing Hawks:

There’s no such thing as being lost, you’re just on a different route than the one you intended. And “should have.” Can we talk about that concept? To say you should have done something implies that there was some kind of obligation, some kind of right or wrong. It’s a thing we say to shame ourselves, to express our regret for not having done something different. It’s the mournful cry of hindsight. I feel that “could have” is a much better way of framing things.

I should have stayed in bed today becomes I could have gotten more sleep. I never should have come here becomes I could have saved myself some heartache had I made a different decision. I should have left well enough alone becomes I could have walked away. See, by reframing should have to could have you release yourself from the guilt of having picked the wrong way. Could have implies several options. Should have implies either or. And from that perspective all choices are learning experiences.

As someone who’s wracked by guilt on a daily basis for the actions I did and did not take, this hit hard. I’m not sure reframing “should have” to “could have” alleviates all that guilt, but it does make it feel like there were and are more doors to choose to go through. And we can all choose to make different decisions next time.

Linked